The Democratic Party needs to show that it has a firm grasp on the economy if it wants to be successful, according to Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio.
"We can't just be the party of redistribution of wealth … we've got to be the party of creation of wealth," Ryan said Thursday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"We have to say, look, we're the party to be able to handle the economy in the 21st century. We have the convergence of so many different elements happening right now — globalization, automation, artificial intelligence, all of these different other opportunities within the economy."
Neither Democrats nor Republicans have taken advantage of that potential, he said.
"What I want the Democratic Party to be is a party that can set an agenda to try to deal with those issues that will drive up wages, help people be able to afford college and healthcare and all the rest," the Ohio congressman said.
"But let me be clear. I don't think we can be hostile to business," Ryan added. He said that simplifying the tax code and lowering the corporate tax rate should be priorities.
Ryan has been critical of President Donald Trump's tax reform plans. "The Trump Administration's proposed tax cuts just don't add up. Once again, a Republican administration has been proven to be utterly disinterested in fiscal responsibility as long as their millionaire and billionaire friends get huge tax breaks, regardless if hardworking, middle class Americans get stuck paying the bill," Ryan said in an opinion piece on his website.
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